LibraryLover Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 (edited) This day has been way too long. Edited October 16, 2013 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ria Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Sentence from essay about how to look at art: Personal interpretation is the way humans convey how the world looks through their eyes. I think it is a horrible, lazy sentence, period. Hate it. If you want me to edit, care about that. ;) Kid has diagrammed it and says it's perfectly fine. Dh (who cares less about style) says it's grammatically fine. Dh says, "It could be stronger and more clear, sure, but it's not wrong." Grrrr. Lazy lazy lazy. Discuss. I want to so pick a fight with them over this, but as to avoid a ridiculous scene, I came here instead. ;) I am just waiting until 5 for a Blue Moon. This day has been way too long. I don't like the sentence, either. I have a Victory Golden Monkey waiting for me. :) Which Blue Moon do you have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Personal interpretation is the way humans convey how the world looks through their eyes. I don't have an issue with the grammar in the sentence, but rather with the content: what does it mean, and why does that have to be said? To me, the sentence is utterly redundant because, well, personal interpretation is about how a person interprets the world...duh. So, I am not sure the sentence has a function at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 I don't have an issue with the grammar in the sentence, but rather with the content: what does it mean, and why does that have to be said?To me, the sentence is utterly redundant because, well, personal interpretation is about how a person interprets the world...duh. So, I am not sure the sentence has a function at all. :iagree::D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiberia Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 I don't have an issue with the grammar in the sentence, but rather with the content: what does it mean, and why does that have to be said?To me, the sentence is utterly redundant because, well, personal interpretation is about how a person interprets the world...duh. So, I am not sure the sentence has a function at all. "Personal interpretation is how people interpret things personally." Yes, either way, it's an annoying, unnecessary sentence. But, are you sure you don't have better things to fight about? I save my family fights for apostrophes and subject/verb agreement. Back down (said in soothing voice). Let it go. :grouphug: (OK, yes, I'm kidding here.) But, to make you feel better: Yesterday I was at a Walmart and I noticed ALL the signs had correct apostrophes. Ladies', Men's, Girls', Boys', etc. It made my heart happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 (edited) I don't have an issue with the grammar in the sentence, but rather with the content: what does it mean, and why does that have to be said? To me, the sentence is utterly redundant because, well, personal interpretation is about how a person interprets the world...duh. So, I am not sure the sentence has a function at all. Thank you. Edited October 16, 2013 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Perhaps you need to draw your husband and daughter a Venn diagram. One circle is "bad sentences" and the other is "grammatically incorrect sentences". The overlap will be huge, of course, but it's not absolute. Some sentences are grammatically acceptable but still bad. Others might be grammatically incorrect, but, because of context and other circumstances, still appropriate and good sentences. This one happens to be acceptable grammatically. That doesn't mean it isn't BAD. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 I agree. Terrible sentence. It looks like a sentence designed to increase the word count of an essay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 (edited) I agree that the problem is content, not grammar. Personal interpretation happens in my mind; therefore, how can interpretation convey anything? A person might interpret then convey information, but an interpretation is not capable of conveying. It can only be conveyed. This reminds me of a headline I saw recently that stated, "New evidence cites..." What, the evidence grew a brain and a mouth? Evidence can't cite; it can only be cited. Edited September 30, 2011 by LizzyBee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homemama2 Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Let's just put it this way....I've been trying to help my 2nd grader and 4th grader correct their papers for the last hour. It could be worse. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 LOL Another day. :) If I try that now, nothing more will get done. Perhaps you need to draw your husband and daughter a Venn diagram. One circle is "bad sentences" and the other is "grammatically incorrect sentences". The overlap will be huge, of course, but it's not absolute. Some sentences are grammatically acceptable but still bad. Others might be grammatically incorrect, but, because of context and other circumstances, still appropriate and good sentences.This one happens to be acceptable grammatically.That doesn't mean it isn't BAD. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassy Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 What's a 'Blue Moon' and a 'Victory Golden Monkey'? Never heard of them. They sound exotic and maybe rather nice. I've had one of those days too. Cassy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoforjoy Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 That is exactly the kind of sentence I get in papers from my students who are relatively competent writers but who either don't know what they are trying to say or don't know how to say it. Or who are just trying to say something to fill up the white space. In other words, it's the kind of sentence that strikes me as a b.s. sentence, where the writer wants to sound like they are saying something intelligent without actually saying anything at all. Of course, if it was my student, I'd say it much nicer than that. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoforjoy Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Perhaps you need to draw your husband and daughter a Venn diagram. One circle is "bad sentences" and the other is "grammatically incorrect sentences". The overlap will be huge, of course, but it's not absolute. Some sentences are grammatically acceptable but still bad. Others might be grammatically incorrect, but, because of context and other circumstances, still appropriate and good sentences. This one happens to be acceptable grammatically. That doesn't mean it isn't BAD. ;) Oh my goodness. I love that. I may actually have to steal that and share that Venn diagram with my students, many of whom seem to think that, as long as their sentences are grammatically correct, they're good to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristinaBreece Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 I agree. Terrible sentence. It looks like a sentence designed to increase the word count of an essay. :iagree: I was just thinking that I probably threw a sentence or two like that into my writing at one point in my HS career. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 (edited) :) A large public board is a great way to get lots and instant feedback, but it also means such conversations live forever, somewhere. I always struggle with how much of an experience is mine, and how much belongs privately to the members of my family. Anonymity is not guaranteed, even as some of use pen names.I'm sure this conundrum is why the mods receive so many delete requests. Edited October 16, 2013 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 In other words, it's the kind of sentence that strikes me as a b.s. sentence, where the writer wants to sound like they are saying something intelligent without actually saying anything at all. :iagree: I would call this to her attention but not make it a hill to die on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 :) I do wish there was a way to share and get additional feedback without revealing more detail-- which live forever on a web crawl. I want to own my own words, but the stories of my children are their own. A large public board is a great way to get lots and instant feedback, but the it also means such conversations live forever, somewhere. I always struggle with how much of an experience is mine, and how much belongs privately to the members of my family. Anonymity is not guaranteed, even as some of use pen names. I'm sure this conundrum is why the mods receive so many delete requests. You can always PM someone or a couple of people. I don't think that PMs are every visible on a web crawl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 You can always PM someone or a couple of people. I don't think that PMs are every visible on a web crawl. Of course, but that's not going to have the advantage of getting helpful multiple responses or perspectives in 'real time'. I also don't know why people have to quote everything. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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